hter,
and slowly turned up his face, wrung into ten thousand horrid puckers,
to the sky, till his chin stood as high as his forehead, with his teeth
and eyes shut, and he uttered a sound like a half-stifled screech; and,
indeed, looked very black and horrible.

Some of the spectators, rear-rank men, having but an imperfect view of
the transaction, thought that O'Flaherty had been hideously run through
the body by his solemn opponent, and swelled the general chorus of
counsel and ejaculation, by all together advising cobwebs, brown-paper
plugs, clergymen, brandy, and the like; but as none of these comforts
were at hand, and nobody stirred, O'Flaherty was left to the resources
of Nature.

Puddock threw his cocked hat upon the ground and stamped in a momentary
frenzy.

'He'th _dying_--Devereux--Cluffe--he'th--I _tell_ you, he'th dying;' and
he was on the point of declaring himself O'Flaherty's murderer, and
surrendering himself as such into the hands of anybody who would accept
the custody of his person, when the recollection of his official
position as poor O'Flaherty's second flashed upon him, and collecting
with a grand effort, his wits and his graces--

'It'th totally impothible, gentlemen,' he said, with his most
ceremonious bow; 'conthidering the awful condition of my
printhipal--I--I have reathon to fear--in fact I know--Dr. Thturk has
theen him--that he'th under the action of _poithon_--and it'th quite
impractithable, gentlemen, that thith affair of honour can protheed at
prethent;' and Puddock drew himself up peremptorily, and replaced his
hat, which somebody had slipped into his hand, upon his round powdered
head.

Mr. Mahony, though a magnificent gentleman, was, perhaps, a little
stupid, and he mistook Puddock's agitation, and thought he was in a
passion, and disposed to be offensive. He, therefore, with a marked and
stern sort of elegance, replied--

'_Pison_, Sir, is a remarkably strong alpathet; it's language, Sir,
which, if a gentleman uses at all, he's bound in justice, in shivalry,
and in dacency to a generous adversary, to define with precision. Mr.
Nutter is too well known to the best o'society, moving in a circle as he
does, to require the panegyric of humble me. They drank together last
night, they differed in opinion, that's true, but fourteen clear hours
has expired, and pison being mentioned----'

'Why, body o' me! Sir,' lisped Puddock, in fierce horror; 'can you
imagine for one moment, Si